You just made your audience Bob. And I'll post my opinion about this
article. One of the first things that caught my eye was the fact that
this article was replete with rhetorical questions and not many hard
facts or statistics. It's an op-ed piece, obviously, but I also saw it
as ranting...and not something I'd like to read in a professional
journal. There are other ways to step on a soapbox, including blogging,
listserving, websites, and even snail mail for those that like paper and
3-D mail.
The other thing that grabbed me, especially toward the end of this
article was the word "change." People always approach change with
trepidation, whether it be a new administrator on campus, new policies
being erected, modifying an existing institution into the streamlined
mainstream. But change is good...believe me, I don't want to type
catalog cards, esp. in a high school setting. Give me an online OPAC
anyday.
As a librarian who has seen much change in the past eleven years I've
been in this profession, I embrace the ease that technology has given
us...and the websites listed at the end? FABULOUS! These are not site
students flock to, but our profession will - and that creates
conversations, displays, annotated lists, booktalks, et al.
Kindles and e-readers for picking up, but I have to congratulate this
innovation with publishers as well. How excited was I to get the galley
for a YA book I've been DYING for, and have it downloaded in a second
instead of waiting for a reply to a request to the publisher, the
library manager for the publishing house, another librarian who could
put me on the list of those that want it, or wait for a major library
conference to get one, if they have them....but despite all this, I'll
still love books, and make sure my campus loves them as well....
Thanks for sharing this : ) Looking forward to other replies!!
Naomi Bates
Northwest High School Library
Justin, Texas
nbates@nisdtx.org
817-215-0203
>>> Bob Hicks <bob.hicks@USD470.COM> 3/2/2010 10:01 AM >>>
Believing this might stimulate interest and discussion, I first
submitted this to "School Library Journal" but to no surprise they
could not find space for the article.
Bob-- Sorry you didn't receive a reply previously. Our editorial
schedule is set for 2010 and, unfortunately, we do not have an open
position for your article. Thanks you for submitting it.--Phyllis.
Phyllis Levy Mandell
Managing Editor
Multimedia Review Editor
School Library Journal
Curriculum Connections
360 Park Avenue South
New York, NY 10010
646-746-6763
____________________________________________________________
School Libraries Are Irrelevant?
I have extrapolated on the following online article
Do School Libraries Need Books?
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/10/do-school-libraries-need-books/
Within a capitalistic system, economics defines and dictates
everything: human behavior, the culture, and societal institutions
including libraries.
Recently, I visited one of the bookstore chains. For a Saturday,
there were only a few people in the store and most of them were in the
ever expanding "non-book" areas: CD, DVD, and computer software. Can
these places still even be called bookstores? I bought a $30 book.
Upon returning home, I checked Amazon and discovered I could have
download the same book for $10. Because I am a "Last Generation
Bookman", hard copies have intrinsic and sentimental value thus paying
triple for a "real" book is not a problem. However, if I was under
say thirty or an "internet/computer" generation person having no
emotional or psychological attachment to three dimensional books , I
would be angry and feel cheated.
Did you read or hear in the news that Laredo, Texas, a community of
250,000, was losing their last and only bookstore?
In the end, economics trumps everything. Do you remember the "buy
America" movement years ago? The idea was two fold: support American
labor and manufacturing by buying more expensive products made in
America, and refuse to support and reward employers of slave and
sweatshop labor by purchasing their products. Unfortunately, people
who would never dream of supporting child or exploited labor were
willing to do just that just o save a few bucks. The movement quickly
failed! Americans chose their pocketbooks over their patriotism and
principles.
Just as the technology in form of the printing press initiated the
"cheap" book/printed page era, the technology of computers, the
internet, eReaders, and etc. will end it. Does anyone want to bet
that "hard copy" books will get cheaper? Excluding the author and
actual "text" costs, consider all the other costs of getting a
physical book into your hands: materials, labor, printing, binding,
packing, shipping, and bookstore costs. What percent of the retail
price? Half? Two thirds? In ten years, what do you think the postage
on shipping a box of books? What if both the author and the publisher
of an eBook, digital book, or whatever you call them made the same
profit or even more with a download instead of a hard copy? Are
capitalists known for their sentimentality?
Have you noticed new books are going out of print faster? Publisher
print runs are smaller. Have you tried to buy a year or two year old
hardback lately? Sorry, out of print, but the eBook is available for
$8. In 2009, Carol Buchanan's God's Thunderbolt: The Vigilantes Of
Montana won the Western Writers Of America prestigious "Spur" award
for best first novel. It is a self-published book. Why pay a
publisher? When will an eBook win the Pulitzer Prize or make it on
the NYT bestseller list? Presently, is their a bestseller list
dedicated to eBooks?
Besides the cost difference between a hard copy and an eBook, consider
other existing and potential advantages of eBooks over the Gutenberg
template? Guaranteed availability--no gamble as to whether the store
has it in stock. No worry of it going out of print. How about
text keyword and index searching? What would the YA reader rather
have? A hard copy of Stephanie Meyer's latest tome or a cheaper
"Multimedia" eBook which besides text would includes a read-along
audio track, background music track, graphic illustrations or graphic
version, keyword text & index searchability, and a visual "Avatar"
characterization play/drama of the story. Of course, a Spanish
language version is included. Oh, by the way, if you don't want to
buy the eBook, you can rent it for for $1.99 (automatic text deletion
after 30 days). Of course, if you belong to the eBook club and pay
the $15 monthly fee, you have unlimited rental downloads for free.
Of course, shortly, hard copy school textbooks will be a thing of the
past. Again, cost will determine the preference. Why would a college
student or school district pay $75-$200 for a textbook when it can
downloaded to a computer, Kindle, iPad or whatever for $20? Again,
also keep in mind the advantages of the eBook from keyword indexing
and highlighting to the audio/visual features. School districts will
simply pay the publisher a flat fee for X number or unlimited
downloads.
Since students have classroom computer and/or handheld access to all
the standard "library" reference resources: encyclopedias, magazines
and newspapers, both free and subscription databases, and thousands of
specific primary and secondary downloadable eBooks, why do they need
to go to the library or why does there need to be a library to go
to? If a student is doing a research paper on the American
Revolution, he simply downloads the "David McCullough" Revolutionary
War Library of his ten recommended books on the subject. How about
info on Mccarthyism? Access and/or download famous Professor Smith's
McCarthyism Book & Magazine Library (bundle). Do you need
information on the development of the gothic novel and horror
literature or simply like horror novels? Access and download Neil
Gaiman's recommended eBooks. All downloads are free to students
because the district pays an annual $ subscription free for unlimited
access and downloading! Why would a student waste precious classtime
to physically go to the library?
Remember spending hours and hours in the university library? What is
happening or is going to happen to all those impressive college and
university "brick & mortar" libraries with their miles of stacks of
books and back issue journals? Will they still buy all those academic
and technical books and subscribe to all those esoteric university
press journals once they are digitized and downloadable? How are they
going to continue to rationalize such expenditures? How about the
storage and utility costs? Are they or will they become simply huge
computer/internet cafes? Why would a student need to spend time in
one?
How much reference assistance or advice in book selection do students
really need? By they get to middle school and high school, I believe
not much. Have you visited one of the increasing online "ask a
librarian or "reader advisor" sites (see examples below)--you type in
your favorite book, genre or book you recently read and liked and you
will get a list of similar books. Do your want to know what book
three is in the -----series? Yes, in certain circumstances, one could
still make a case that a librarian's unique knowledge and experience
has educational value. But, the librarian does not need a "library"
facility to practice reference assistance. A classroom or just an
office would suffice.
Presently, what functions have your actual "library" space morphed
into: computer lab, testing center, back to the old study hall, and/
or club and social meeting hall? If I recall correctly, are not
school architects reducing the library square footage in new school
buildings?
I am what you could call a "transitional" librarian or the last
generation of "traditional" librarianship. Initially, I practiced
librarianship basically the same way the previous three or four
generations of librarians had--hand written/typed catalog cards,
wooden drawers, the green Readers' Guide To Periodical Literature,
multi-volumed reference sources & etc. Recently, I weeded the
library's remaining old record recordings and filmstrip kits I had
left. After notifying the faculty, a young, first year teacher
stopped by to inspect the kits just out of curiosity. She had never
seen one!
As library traffic, circulation, and usage continue to decline, it is
going to become more difficult for MLS school librarians to
rationalize and defend their facilities, contributions to the
curriculum, and educational value. Any teacher certified person or
even a "para" can checkout a few books and supervise computers.
Having been a high school librarian for over thirty years, I have had
hundreds of student library aides. With my encouragement, some have
chose librarianship as their profession. Currently, I am reluctant in
recommending the profession to students. At times, I see the specter
of the buggy whip maker. A few years ago a fellow high school
librarian and friend announced his retirement. Sounding frustrated,
he said he no longer had much to do.
Flashlight Worthy
http://www.flashlightworthybooks.com/
The Book Explorer
http://www.thebookexplorer.com/
What Should I Read
http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search
Bob Hicks, librarian
Arkansas City High School Librarian
Arkansas City, KS 67005
bob.hicks@usd470.com
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